Heidelberg to launch three new packaging machines

Heidelberg is to launch three new post-press machines, for die-cutting, hot-foiling and glueing, intended to appeal to the majority of operators in the packaging market.

The Promatrix CSB has inline blanking facilities

Due to be shown at an event at its Wiesloch-Walldorf site next Wednesday (10 May), Heidelberg will be launching its new Promatrix 106 CSB die-cutter, Promatrix 106 FC hot-foiler and Diana Easy 115 folder-gluer.

A number of the machines have been shipped as beta products to companies in Brazil, Spain, France and Poland but they will be officially available for purchase after the Wiesloch event.

Heidelberg post-press head of sales Mark Hogan said the price of the machines would enable Heidelberg to target 80% of the market, rather than just the top-flight manufacturers. The FC will cost around £450,000, the CSB around £400,000 and the Diana around £250,000.

Hogan said: “In the past we’ve had top-of-the-range XL 106 Speedmaster performance and positioning, so we were going after a narrow range of customers and were missing out on by far the biggest part of the global packaging market.”

The machines are being launched in partnership with Masterwork Graphic Equipment, a Heidelberg partner of the past two years and a supplier of post-press machines to the Asian market. Since the partnership was launched, Heidelberg has sold more than 70 Easymatrix and Promatrix machines.

The FC is targeted at smaller companies looking to bring the hot-foiling process in-house. It has 20 individually controlled heating zones, can foil in the transverse direction and has automatic foil control.

“By applying hot foil you can significantly increase the perceived value for a brand owner and what we are trying to do is come up with ways that we can hit the holy grail for the brand owner, which is to trigger that shelf-purchasing impulse,” said Hogan.

The CSB is an extension of the Promatrix CS cutting and stripping machines but with added inline blanking facilities. It runs at a maximum speed of 8,000sph and takes stock weighing between 90gsm to 2,000gsm.

Hogan said: “Blanking is quite a labour intensive process and by having a completely separate inline blanking [unit] it significantly reduces the major amount of labour, so for the independent packaging companies looking to streamline it reduces manufacture costs, reduces waste and reduces damage to the product."

The Diana gluer is an extension of the Diana X but again at a “price point that makes it attractive to a wider audience,” according to Hogan. It has four- and six-corner box capacity, running at up to 350m/min.

Hogan anticipates that while the foiling market is relatively small and mature in the UK, the blanking facility of the CSB will be successful in the UK market, as well as the Diana.

“The Diana builds on the Jagenberg heritage and there are Jagenberg machines out there still going back 30 to 40 years, so there are opportunities for people familiar with the technology to upgrade to the Diana,” he concluded.